problem mounting large partition ...
i'm sure this is a faq but i can't find the answer so i'm hoping someone here can give me a quick pointer to the right direction. i just got done installing slink on a 13Gb maxtor drive. my /var (where i like to keep everything) is just over 10Gb. when i boot it hangs on the message: /dev/hda3 on /var/ type ext2 (rw) i'm assuming that this is a problem with large partitions on 2.0.36 kernels but i can't get the damn thing mounted to upgrade the kernel. pointers or suggestions would be much appreciated. thanks, adam.
Re: problem mounting large partition ...
On Sat, Mar 25, 2000 at 05:26:40PM -0900, Adam Shand wrote: i'm sure this is a faq but i can't find the answer so i'm hoping someone here can give me a quick pointer to the right direction. i just got done installing slink on a 13Gb maxtor drive. my /var (where i like to keep everything) is just over 10Gb. I won't ask why, but you should probably follow the fhs standard or you might break things. when i boot it hangs on the message: /dev/hda3 on /var/ type ext2 (rw) i'm assuming that this is a problem with large partitions on 2.0.36 kernels but i can't get the damn thing mounted to upgrade the kernel. I don't recall what the limit is, but with a large partition that may contain many small files, you're likely to run out of inodes. And that's no fun. I'd suggest breaking up var into smaller partitions: /var, /var/spool, /var/lib and /var/cache for instance. Larger partitions also have longer fsck times. You might try booting into single user mode, then see if you can mount the partition -- there may be some other reason why it hangs. For instance, if you used a new version of mkfs you might have made a filesystem that is incompatible with the older kernels. Also, their may be an issue with addressing 8GB drives -- does the kernel report the ``correct'' geometry at boot (C/H/S)? -- ++ | Eric G. Milleregm2@jps.net | | GnuPG public key: http://www.jps.net/egm2/gpg.asc | ++
Re: problem mounting large partition ...
I won't ask why, but you should probably follow the fhs standard or you might break things. which is? I don't recall what the limit is, but with a large partition that may contain many small files, you're likely to run out of inodes. And that's no fun. I'd suggest breaking up var into smaller partitions: /var, /var/spool, /var/lib and /var/cache for instance. Larger partitions also have longer fsck times. i've had bad luck in the past with non primary partitions. i try and avoid them when i can. i like to keep user stuff (home dirs, web pages etc) out of /usr so i normally make a large /var and link stuff to it. You might try booting into single user mode, then see if you can mount the partition -- there may be some other reason why it hangs. For instance, if you used a new version of mkfs you might have made a filesystem that is incompatible with the older kernels. i've done a stock slink install and it hangs on the re-boot before you get to deselect. i don't think that is the problem. Also, their may be an issue with addressing 8GB drives -- does the kernel report the ``correct'' geometry at boot (C/H/S)? it didn't until i disabled the drive in bios and then cfdisk found it and reported it with the correct size. i'm gonna try an install with the potato disks and see if that helps. sigh ... back to floppies :) adam.
Re: problem mounting large partition ...
On Sat, Mar 25, 2000 at 07:03:21PM -0900, Adam Shand wrote: I won't ask why, but you should probably follow the fhs standard or you might break things. which is? See http://www.pathname.com/fhs/ i've had bad luck in the past with non primary partitions. i try and avoid them when i can. i like to keep user stuff (home dirs, web pages etc) out of /usr so i normally make a large /var and link stuff to it. I've heard others report the same, I've never been that lucky -- and I do have several extended partitions. BTW, the fhs has users' dirs on /home rather than /usr/home. You can also put webpage homes there as well if you do virtual hosting or just /home/public_html for normal user pages. You can get away with four primaries too: /, /usr, /home, /var. i've done a stock slink install and it hangs on the re-boot before you get to deselect. i don't think that is the problem. Also, their may be an issue with addressing 8GB drives -- does the kernel report the ``correct'' geometry at boot (C/H/S)? it didn't until i disabled the drive in bios and then cfdisk found it and reported it with the correct size. i'm gonna try an install with the potato disks and see if that helps. sigh ... back to floppies :) Well, if you have networking, you'll only need five: Rescue.bin Root.bin, and the three driver disks -- you can get the rest off of the net. I did this last week on a system -- works slick if you have a fast connection, kind of a drag if you don't. -- ++ | Eric G. Milleregm2@jps.net | | GnuPG public key: http://www.jps.net/egm2/gpg.asc | ++
Re: problem mounting large partition ...
you must have a boot partition comlete into the lower 1024 cyl. On Sat, 25 Mar 2000, Adam Shand wrote: i'm sure this is a faq but i can't find the answer so i'm hoping someone here can give me a quick pointer to the right direction. i just got done installing slink on a 13Gb maxtor drive. my /var (where i like to keep everything) is just over 10Gb. when i boot it hangs on the message: /dev/hda3 on /var/ type ext2 (rw) i'm assuming that this is a problem with large partitions on 2.0.36 kernels but i can't get the damn thing mounted to upgrade the kernel. pointers or suggestions would be much appreciated. thanks, adam. -- Unsubscribe? mail -s unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] /dev/null
